Feb 20, 2026 By Rick Shrum 3 min read

It wasn’t business as usual at the Hilton Garden Inn-Southpointe Thursday morning.

More than 300 business leaders from across the region gathered for the Washington County Chamber of Commerce’s initial Member Forum. The event lasted four hours and featured two panel discussions and nine speakers – including a Steelers executive named Rooney.

Dan Rooney, vice president of Business Development and Strategy, was the final speaker – and the one who attracted the most attention.

The grandson of the late owner, also named Dan, discussed the many benefits – financial and otherwise – ahead for the team and the region because of the National Football League draft kicking off at the city’s Acrisure Stadium on April 23.

“This will be a football festival unlike any other,” he said. “There are 11 or 12 NFL teams reasonably near us and their fans may come here.”

Rooney said the Steelers “have a good relationship with the NFL,” and that “the commissioner (Washington & Jefferson College graduate Roger Goodell) sees how passionate people here are.”

“We’ve really had critical teamwork on this. We’ve had a number of (Hall of) Famers from this area. This is a story we love to tell,” Rooney said.

The team executive said the club anticipates “north of 500,000 people coming through our region.”

“Green Bay and Detroit did north of 700,000. We feel like we will have a record number,” he said.

Rooney said an estimated $200 million could come through this region during the draft, providing an “opportunity to launch Pittsburgh into the future.”

While there will be many ancillary activities, the younger Dan Rooney realizes the draft is the focal point.

“The biggest names in college football will march across the stage and embrace the commissioner when they are selected,” he said. “This is not a Steelers event but a Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania event.”

The event also focused on the region’s economic outlook.

Russell Mills, regional executive of the Pittsburgh branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, opened the program.

The Federal Reserve is America’s central bank. The Cleveland branch serves several areas including Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Nationally, he said, the Gross Domestic Product grew 4.4% during the fourth quarter of 2025. He said consumer confidence “rebounded a little, but was down from a year ago.”

The branch conducted a survey specific to Washington County and said the county “is one of the pockets in the region that has been better.” He cited the slight increase in population from 2020 to 2024.

Mills, however, said the region “has a relatively flat hiring environment,” showing fewer jobs are available and people are not quitting.

The survey also indicated that more businesses expect costs to rise in the county.

A panel moderated by Ami Gatts, president of the Washington Greene County Job Training Agency Inc., discussed Workforce Development. The panel consisted of Don Martin, executive director of Intermediate Unit 1; Michael P. Lucas, superintendent of Trinity Area School District; and Michael Milanovich, executive director of Western Area Career & Technology Center.

Their discussion centered on enhancing workforce development by engaging students more in workforce-related programs – perhaps by starting them in job-related programs before high school, working more with guidance counselors.

“Improving communications with kids is No. 1,” Milanovich said. “We must try to train students to do what they need to do career-wise. Find out what a student likes or doesn’t like and guide them.”

“There are many opportunities for students outside a four-year degree,” Martin added.